I"m excited about getting my sleeve ...one concern .I've failed every attempt to lose weight my whole life. Will I fail at this too? I'm doing a 12 week supervised diet for my insurance and have lost a few pounds, but nothing near what I need to lose. Just wondering (worrying) will this tool be right for me?

A while back there was a post about someone meeting a sleever that had it done 4 years ago and they lost the eight and regained it all back (or nearly so). Now this was second hand information and the poster seemed to indicate that the sleever just lost control and starting eating constantly, and eating all the wrong things.

It IS possible, if there is a way for a human to screw something that should otherwise be bulletproof they will find a way. The sleeve is a TOOL only and NOT a solution. YOU have to make it work and YOU can undermine it and keep it from working.

I think the definition of failure is different for everyone. Losing was easy, maintenance and lifelong change in behavior and strategies to battle weight regain is the challenge for me.

All weight loss surgeries can fail. I have compared it to a hammer to nail. The sleeve is the tool, you are the user of said tool. Just like with a hammer, you can focus, aim, and swing with precision with the hammer, and hit the nail, or you can close your eyes, wield the hammer aimlessly, and end up hitting your finger or denting the wood. Same with the sleeve, follow the guidelines, change your eating behaviors, find coping skill/mechanism to deal with emotional food issues and be successful, or get surgery, never focus on the program, eat smaller portions but nutrient lacking foods, load up on sliders, binge on junk, and not lose your weight.

I don't think anyone can tell you with certainty that the sleeve is right for you. I know it was right for me, and it gave me a fighting chance at maintenance. BUT, I put in the effort to make those changes permanent. It's something I work at every day.

this is my biggest fear that it will not work for me. my dr. says it will and not to worry!

however, i have lost and regained 100lbs 3 times. that frightenes me! i CAN lose weight, i just CAN NOT keep it off.

i have not had surgery yet and plan to use my sleeve as a tool, just like tiff says. it has to be lifelong and you have to work at it. i pray everyday that the sleeve will work for me and i pray the same for you too!

good luck!

kelly

Your concerns are understandale, although according to these stats the sleeve has a 97.5% success rate http://www.skrekas.net/surg_hemstatistics.htm

I'm starting thinking about a revision as plication hasn't done much for me and I totally share your concerns. Worst case with the sleeve you can revise to the duodenal switch and I don't think I've read about anyone one failing with that (just some complications and deficiencies but even then DSers seem happy).

Yes, you can fail. And I agree with Tiff. "Failure" has a lot of definitions. I could fail to use my tool & work around it by putting in slider foods or eating so frequently that I am always full. But, if you use the tool the way it is intended and eat the right foods 90% of the time (Yep! You can even treat yourself every now and then), you will be a success.

I can only give you my personal experience ... I had failed at every diet known to mankind. Today, I am in a size 4, my lab results are terrific and I feel great. I posted earlier that I had been eating too many calories the last few weeks & the pounds were sneaking up on me (I normally bounce between 123 and 128) ... I hit 130.2 & knew I had gone passed my "bounce zone". I kept track of my calories for a few days & I am back at 127.6 already. Yeehaw!

You can definitely fail it, you have to mentally be ready for it

I was 306 lbs at 13, I dieted and by 16 was 245, then ran all the way up to 485 dieted down to 395 , then 526 down to 435, then 568 down to 452 and finally 575 till now

and that's all the big weightlosses over the past 20 years there were quite a bit of other 30, 40, 50 lb losses that I don't remember. I started the process at 575 with the sleeve in place I don't think I will ever get anywhere close to that again. I would really have to mess up.

What is considered successful for the sleeve patient? Everyone is different and has a different definition of success... Of course i'd like to keep losing and have a BMI of 25 or below but what if I spend the rest of my life around 225-250 is that successful?

Of course we all have to have goals to strive for and most of us should be able to hit those goals but for someone like myself "success" has a different meaning.

Maybe for some it's to be off medications, to fit in a size 14, to play with their children or grandchildren, or to have children of their own.

If you spend your days eating every hour or two and eating junk that will slide through you sleeve you probably won't do as well but I think the point everyone is making is you have to work hard to fail at this.

True story: I used to love love love taco bell, my head still does and I still go occasionally but here's my meals

Before surgery: 2 chicken chalupas supremes, 3 soft taco supremes, a 1/2 lb cheesy rice and bean burrito and 2 32 oz cups of dr. pepper (lava sauce on everything)

After surgery: 1 bean burrito, a few bites to 1/2 of a second bean burrito and I am absolutely done

before surgery I could leave there and eat Cookies or something else my appetite was outrageous but after surgery I eat that meal and I don't even want to look at food for 90 minutes.

Am I saying go have taco bell no and I know it's not the best choice because of all that carbs but I still do indulge myself from time to time

You can definitely fail it, you have to mentally be ready for it

I was 306 lbs at 13, I dieted and by 16 was 245, then ran all the way up to 485 dieted down to 395 , then 526 down to 435, then 568 down to 452 and finally 575 till now

and that's all the big weightlosses over the past 20 years there were quite a bit of other 30, 40, 50 lb losses that I don't remember. I started the process at 575 with the sleeve in place I don't think I will ever get anywhere close to that again. I would really have to mess up.

What is considered successful for the sleeve patient? Everyone is different and has a different definition of success... Of course i'd like to keep losing and have a BMI of 25 or below but what if I spend the rest of my life around 225-250 is that successful?

Of course we all have to have goals to strive for and most of us should be able to hit those goals but for someone like myself "success" has a different meaning.

Maybe for some it's to be off medications, to fit in a size 14, to play with their children or grandchildren, or to have children of their own.

If you spend your days eating every hour or two and eating junk that will slide through you sleeve you probably won't do as well but I think the point everyone is making is you have to work hard to fail at this.

True story: I used to love love love taco bell, my head still does and I still go occasionally but here's my meals

Before surgery: 2 chicken chalupas supremes, 3 soft taco supremes, a 1/2 lb cheesy rice and bean burrito and 2 32 oz cups of dr. pepper (lava sauce on everything)

After surgery: 1 bean burrito, a few bites to 1/2 of a second bean burrito and I am absolutely done

before surgery I could leave there and eat Cookies or something else my appetite was outrageous but after surgery I eat that meal and I don't even want to look at food for 90 minutes.

Am I saying go have taco bell no and I know it's not the best choice because of all that carbs but I still do indulge myself from time to time

mmmmm....Chalupas.....Taco Bell. "Used2b575lbs" - It will be completely your fault if I end up at Taco Bell tonight, for the first time in ages.

CONGRATS to you on your total weight loss....so far

You can definitely fail it, you have to mentally be ready for it

I was 306 lbs at 13, I dieted and by 16 was 245, then ran all the way up to 485 dieted down to 395 , then 526 down to 435, then 568 down to 452 and finally 575 till now

and that's all the big weightlosses over the past 20 years there were quite a bit of other 30, 40, 50 lb losses that I don't remember. I started the process at 575 with the sleeve in place I don't think I will ever get anywhere close to that again. I would really have to mess up.

What is considered successful for the sleeve patient? Everyone is different and has a different definition of success... Of course i'd like to keep losing and have a BMI of 25 or below but what if I spend the rest of my life around 225-250 is that successful?

Of course we all have to have goals to strive for and most of us should be able to hit those goals but for someone like myself "success" has a different meaning.

Maybe for some it's to be off medications, to fit in a size 14, to play with their children or grandchildren, or to have children of their own.

If you spend your days eating every hour or two and eating junk that will slide through you sleeve you probably won't do as well but I think the point everyone is making is you have to work hard to fail at this.

True story: I used to love love love taco bell, my head still does and I still go occasionally but here's my meals

Before surgery: 2 chicken chalupas supremes, 3 soft taco supremes, a 1/2 lb cheesy rice and bean burrito and 2 32 oz cups of dr. pepper (lava sauce on everything)

After surgery: 1 bean burrito, a few bites to 1/2 of a second bean burrito and I am absolutely done

before surgery I could leave there and eat Cookies or something else my appetite was outrageous but after surgery I eat that meal and I don't even want to look at food for 90 minutes.

Am I saying go have taco bell no and I know it's not the best choice because of all that carbs but I still do indulge myself from time to time

Follow the plan, you will not fail. Everything has rules, and so does this surgery. Again if you follow the rules.

You will not fail.

Lash

Tiff, just wanted to say congrats to you and your expected new arrival.

Take Care

I think the definition of failure is different for everyone. Losing was easy, maintenance and lifelong change in behavior and strategies to battle weight regain is the challenge for me.

All weight loss surgeries can fail. I have compared it to a hammer to nail. The sleeve is the tool, you are the user of said tool. Just like with a hammer, you can focus, aim, and swing with precision with the hammer, and hit the nail, or you can close your eyes, wield the hammer aimlessly, and end up hitting your finger or denting the wood. Same with the sleeve, follow the guidelines, change your eating behaviors, find coping skill/mechanism to deal with emotional food issues and be successful, or get surgery, never focus on the program, eat smaller portions but nutrient lacking foods, load up on sliders, binge on junk, and not lose your weight.

I don't think anyone can tell you with certainty that the sleeve is right for you. I know it was right for me, and it gave me a fighting chance at maintenance. BUT, I put in the effort to make those changes permanent. It's something I work at every day.

It's funny that you mention Taco Bell! The day that my doc said I could eat normal food again I drove through and got a bean burrito. I was hungry and had not eaten and it sounded like the perfect ticket. I've not before or since felt like I was going to throw up as bad as I did after eating just a few bites of it, and it didn't even taste good to me at all! I won't even try to eat a tortilla at all now because I'm afraid I'm going to get sick! don't care if I ever eat there again!

I"m excited about getting my sleeve ...one concern .I've failed every attempt to lose weight my whole life. Will I fail at this too? I'm doing a 12 week supervised diet for my insurance and have lost a few pounds, but nothing near what I need to lose. Just wondering (worrying) will this tool be right for me?

You'll do fine as long as you follow the guidelines beginning immediately after surgery, the rules are there to guide and help you, it is a learn as you go on some issues as we are all different, mine was I had to learn to love being more active and accept this is a lifelong commitment, all our diets vary but we are here for each other to share the ups and downs. It's a amzing tool and it works great!!!!